Brief Head Start Children at Risk for Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: Behavior Profiles and Clinical Implications of a Primary Prevention Program

Abstract

This article examines the utility of the Early Screening Project (ESP; Walker, Severson, & Feil, 1995) for early detection and outcome of Head Start children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) in a classroom-wide universal mental health intervention over a 12-week period. Eight children identified as being at high risk for E/BD in the experimental classroom prior to intervention either significantly improved or maintained their preintervention functioning on ESP measures. In this group, 2 children were no longer considered in the at-risk category and the remaining 6 did not reach clinical standards on any new measures. Only 1 child was identified from control classrooms, and that child remained at high risk for the development of E/BD at posttesting, while an additional 3 students from control classrooms evidenced behavioral criteria that placed them at high risk for E/BD at posttest assessment.